The present system relates to the collection of visible light energy from solar radiation and the distribution of such light energy to the internal areas of a building for lumination purposes. A great variety of light transmitting systems have been proposed in this field of art. Most of the known systems typically include a light collector element mounted on the roof of a building for collecting the radiation energy and some form of light diffuser element connected to the collector element from which the light is emitted into the internal area of the building. Other systems further include some form of conductor element mounted between the collector element and diffuser element to provide an extended optical path through which the light energy may be transmitted over a particular distance.
There are a number of drawbacks associated with the lighting systems currently known in this field. Indeed, there are serious drawbacks associated with some of the more complex systems in that they are quite expensive both to purchase and install and require a good deal of ongoing maintenance. Further problems are encountered as these rooftop-mounted systems are susceptible to the adverse effects of weather.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a less expensive passive lighting system having a collector element mounted adjacent a vertical translucent surface of a building for the collection of visible light energy therein.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a natural lighting system that is modular in design and hence easily adaptable to both new and existing building structures.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a natural lighting system which is mounted entirely within the interior space of a building.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a natural lighting system which employs a plurality of reflectors for transmitting solar rays collected at a vertical collector element along a reflective conduit to an internally-mounted light diffusion element for the dispersion of natural light about an interior area of the building.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the accompanying detailed description when taken in conjunction with the following drawings.